HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker College Athletic Director Tim Griggs announced Friday that Carol Meegan has been named head coach of the Cobras women’s basketball program. Meegan will also take over the duties of Senior Women’s Administrator at Coker, an NCAA Division II member of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference.

Griggs points to Meegan’s experience as the deciding factor in Coker’s search, which included a pool of over 100 applicants. "Coach Meegan brings to our athletic department a wealth of knowledge, both on and off the basketball court” Griggs explained. “Her experience in coaching at the Division I, II, and III levels, coupled with her outstanding administrative background, will be a great asset to Coker athletics.”

Meegan has 29 years of coaching experience on the high school and collegiate level, taking her first college coaching job at Charleston Southern University in 1987. She coached at The University of Rutgers-Newark on two separate stints and in between, won a state championship at Holly Hill High School.

In 1993, Meegan became the head coach of the volleyball team at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA. She served five years as the Pirates head coach and in her final season she won Peach Belt Coach of the Year honors.

After her second term at Rutgers-Newark, Meegan returned to the Beaufort, SC area to coach volleyball and basketball at Thomas Heywood Academy in 2002. In 2004-05, she guided the women’s volleyball team to State playoffs for the first time in program history, and led the women’s basketball team to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.

Meegan is excited about the opportunity to coach at Coker. “I’ve dreamed of being on a campus like Coker,” she said. “It’s beautiful and has a nice, quaint size. The campus will help in recruiting because students are set up to succeed here. The size of the classes means that when students need help, there will be someone here to help them.”

The Cobras finished a disappointing 9-20 in 2004-05 with several injury problems, but only two years ago Coker played in the championship game of the CVAC Tournament. Meegan looks forward to the challenge of getting the program back to that elite level.

“I’m confident that we can turn it back around,” explained Meegan. “I’ve had some success in the past reviving programs and it can be done here. Whenever a new coach comes in there is an adjustment period for the coach and for the players. It may take a couple of years but I am excited to be here and can’t wait to get started.”